This invention relates generally to polishing buffs and more specifically to polishing buffs having curved peripheral edges, which buffs are intended to be secured to the rapidly rotating head of a polishing apparatus for polishing surfaces of various shapes such as newly painted metallic surfaces of automobiles and the like.
Polishing buffs of the type above referred to are frequently made in the form of lambs wool backed with or stitched on a sheet of relatively hard canvas for strength and dimensional stability. The lambs wool is then cut to form a wool pile extending from the canvas sheet. The prior art buff is usually provided with a central aperture for attachment to the rotatable head of a manually controlled power apparatus. Such prior art buffs after a relatively short period of usage would have insufficient cushioning action particularly at the outer periphery thereof and thus permit the the buff to cut, abrade or burn paint on the surface being buffed, thereby necessitating repainting of the damaged area. Curved peripheral edges have been applied to such buffs to overcome the previous prior art problems experienced with such polishing buffs.
The upwardly curved outer periphery of such polishing buffs has in the prior art been formed through the utilization of a layer of material affixed to the flexible fabric sheet which carries the wool pile tufts. The additional sheet or layer of material has been formed of fabric or plastic which is secured to the tuft-carrying fabric sheet. The curvature at the peripheral edge of the buff has been provided by the adhesive securing the extra layer of material to the fabric or by the plastic material.
In either event the curved outer peripheral edge of the polishing buff has a degree of stiffness which is determined by the stiffness of the material forming the curve and the material backing up the fabric layer to which the tufts are secured. As a result, when applications require the edge of the pad to be inserted into relatively sharp radiuses or corners, the stiffness of the curved outer peripheral edge of the buff results in damage to the paint. In many instances the curved edges of the prior buffs have been sufficiently stiff to preclude their use in very sharp corners or sharp radiused places.
The best prior art known to applicant which relates to this invention is manifested in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,329,222, 2,838,891, 3,007,189, 3,007,289, 3,086,821 and 3,342,533.